Front draft lug



1,613`1G8 Jam 4 1927 c. M. HANNAFORD FRONT DRAFT LUG Filed May 28, 1925 Patented Jan. 4, 1927.

E. D' Sil Afl Lamina FRONT DRAFT EUG.

Application l'ed Mayz, 1925.` Serial No. 33,48%.

.A This invention is in the nature ofa modiiication of or an improvement upon the front drafting forming thesubject of the application of Arthur Hl Weston, for patent for frontl draft lugs,j.filed Februaryv 20, 1925, Serial No. 10,617 Patent Number 1,551,353, dated August 25, 1925.

The'invention consists in the outside add1- tion to the `front draft lugs of'reinforcing. l()y members whicliflanlr the ribs and rearwardV extensions of the lugs ofthe Weston invention, .these reinforcing members havinglbolt holes that receivesin` of the bolts or rivets used to secure the `Weston front draft lugs four additional bolt= holes to receive bolts or rivetsanlingj` the sidesofthe rearward eX- te'n'sions, the heads of the four additional bolts or rivets beingcountersunl on the inner' sides so'as not to encroach upon the limited spacebetween the centerl sill members for-l the play of the draft gear mechanism, as I will proceed now to set forth and finally claim.'

In' the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention', in the several' figures of whichA like" parts are similarly designated, Figurel is ahorizontal' section, and Fig; 2`is av side elevation of suiiicient of the draft| mechanism' to show` my invention. Fig;` 3 isa perspective viewof' one 'of the reinforc-V ing'members detached;

Without thereby limitingthe invention 'to any particular form ofdraft: rigging or draft sills or centersi'lls, the" invention will bedescribed,v b'ywayl of illustration, in connectioii' with a` center sill madeupI of two metal channel beams, set with their webs uprightand invr parallelism and spaced apart suiii'ciently` to admit the `draft gear.

The channelbeams, as shown'in detail in Eig. 2',`-have vthe bottomiiangesl, top flanges 2, and webs 3, all of ,any usual or approved construction, and have-their websy slotted longitudinally, as indicated at 4l, to permit the' ribs ofthe draf-t lugs, hereinafter particularly described, to extend through and beyond the said webs.

5 is the outer portion of an ordinary yoke, 6 is the shank of the coupler, 7 is the striking plate, and 8 is the drawebar carrier, all of ordinary or approved construction.

The invention herein is not limited to these details, and is adaptable to other constructions.

to the Webs of the cen-ter sillinembers and The frontdraft lug of the Weston4 patent above mentioned, comprisesa plate'9, having the side shown uppermost in Fig; 3 of that patent and as herein shown, as a substan'- tially dat surface,'but providedv with'` the'o longitudinal ribs 10, parallel with'an" intermediateV slot 11, and surrounding the'inner end of said slot, so that the lug may be fitted fiat andv snug against the inside surface ofthe web of the center sill, with the ribs extending through the slot 4f, and'said ribs projecting outside of the web. Theseribsareextended at 12 beyond the end of the lug, and suoli Vextension enters the slot inthe web, thereby serving toaline the parts andtransr mit strains tothe center sill. The lug is provided with the transverse projection 13 on the oppositeor inner side, so as toform anabutment for the front follower 14. This projection or abutment 13Jpreferably`is re- 75 infor-ced by the inclined ribs 15, andtliere are similar yribs 16 at the longitudinal edges of thelugs which extend baclrlto and reinforce the abutment 13..

The plate 9 extendsnot only laterally beyond tlieslot and its ribs 10, but also extends forwardly at' 17 so as to completely overlie the slot in the web of the center sill.

'lihe front draft lug may bey secured to the web of the center sill by any suitable means, preferably rivets 13, applied through the series of holes 19.

The front draft lug may be conveniently madefas asingle unitary casting,- and preferably of stee ris already indicated, one of these'lugs is secured to each of the center sill members on the inner side thereof, and when ythe coup` ler and'yole are placed in position between them, they are secured by means ofanyy suitable ransverse lrey 20, preferably headed at 21 on one end-and providedl with a hole22 at the other end to receive a Cotter-pin or other fastening means- Theslots llinlthe lugs `are made sufficiently large to allow for necessary motion of the draft gear, and so that in bufng the transverse key will abut against the extended surfaces of tlie lugs, the strain being taken off of the rivets practically by the solid or unslotted rearward eX- tension 12.

As already sufficiently indicated, the front draft lug of the Weston invention is intended to take the place of the front draft lugs heretofore used, same being a component part of all draft arrangements, inclusive of vertical plane yoke and friction draft gear.

As shown in Fig. l, the rearward extensions l2 and the ribs l0 project outwardly from the slots in the webs of the center sill members.

In order to reinforce these lugs and ribs and their external projections, the present invention includes the lll-shaped members 23 having the bolt or rivet holes 24, here shown as ten in number. These reinforcing members are appliedto the webs of the center sill members on the outer sides thereof and in longitudinal alinement with the lugs and straddling the ribs 10, and six of the bolts or rivets 18 by which the lugs are secured, also pass through the reinforcing members, while four additional bolts or rivets 25 are used above and'below the rearward extensions l2 for additional reinforcing purposes, and these four bolts or rivets 25 have their heads 26 countersunh in the webs of the center sill members as shown by dotted lines in Fig. l, so as not to obstruct the play of the draft ge r between the sill members.

These reinforcing members may be castings, or of wrought metal, or forgings.

As will be observed, the reinforcing members directly engage and seat against the rear portion l2 of the draft lugs and in this way provide additional strength at the intersection of the draft lugs and the center sill members. Y

The present invention in addition to its reinforcing of the structure, has all of the advantages of the construction shown in the Weston application.

Variations in the details of construction are permissible within the principle of the invention and the scope of the claims following.

What l claim iszl. A. front draft lug, of the character described, having an outwardly projecting rear extension, and an externally applied reinforcing member directly engaging and seating against the rear extension.

2. A. front draft lug, of the character described, provided with an outwardly projecting rear extension, and a U -shaped reinforcing member externally applied and secured to the lug and directly engaging and seating against the rear extension.

SQA front draft lug, of the character described, provided with an outwardly provneiaica the lug, said reinforcing member directly engaging and seating against the rear extension.

5. The combination with center sill members, provided with longitudinal slot-s, of

front draft lugs' slotted longitudinally and provided with ribs flanking the sides and the inner ends of the slots Vin the lugs, said ribs extending solidly beyond the slots in the lugs, the ribs and the extensions fitted in the slots in the center sill members, and the lugs ixedly secured to the center sill members on the inner sides thereof, and reinforcing members applied to the webs of the center sill members on the outer sides thereof about the ribs of the lugs and directlyV engaging and seating against the rearward ex' tensions andheld in place by fastenings used to secure the lugs in place.

6. The combination with center sill members, provided with longitudinal slots, of front draft lugs slotted longitudinally and provided with ribs flanking the sides and the inner ends of the slots in the lugs, said ribs extending solidly beyond the slots in the lugs, the ribs and the extensions fitted in the slots in the center sill members and the lugs iixedly secured to the center sill members on the inner sides thereof, and reinforcing members applied to the webs of the center sill members on the outer sides thereof about the ribs of the lugs and directly engaging and seating against the rearward extensions and held in place by fastenings used to secure the lugs in place and having additional fastenings arranged above and below the rearward extensions of the lugs and engaging the webs of theV center sill members.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 27th day of May A. D. 1925.

@LEON M. HANNAFORD. 

